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Estimation of Residential Water Demand with Imperfect Price Perception

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  • Marie-Estelle Binet
  • Fabrizio Carlevaro
  • Michel Paul

Abstract

Using data from a household survey carried out in the French overseas territory of Réunion, we investigate the price of drinking-water perceived by households faced with an increasing, multi-step pricing scheme. To this purpose we use an improved version of the method introduced by Shin (Rev Econ Stat 67(4):591–598, 1985 ) to estimate the demand for residential water when consumers are imperfectly informed about their pricing schedule. The empirical results suggest that Réunion households underestimate the price of water and thus consume more than what is economically rational. Providing information to households about the marginal price of water may be an innovative means of inducing them to respond to pricing policies designed to promote water conservation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Marie-Estelle Binet & Fabrizio Carlevaro & Michel Paul, 2014. "Estimation of Residential Water Demand with Imperfect Price Perception," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 59(4), pages 561-581, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:59:y:2014:i:4:p:561-581
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-013-9750-z
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    3. María Á. García-Valiñas & Roberto Martínez-Espiñeira & Marta Suárez-Varela Maciá, 2021. "Price and Consumption Misperception Profiles: The Role of Information in the Residential Water Sector," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(4), pages 821-857, December.
    4. Tomas Havranek & Zuzana Irsova & Tomas Vlach, 2018. "Measuring the Income Elasticity of Water Demand: The Importance of Publication and Endogeneity Biases," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 94(2), pages 259-283.
    5. Pérez, María & Libra, Jesse & Machado, Kleber & Serebrisky, Tomás & Solís, Ben, 2022. "Water Bill Perception in Brazil: Do Households Get It Right?," EconStor Preprints 264986, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
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    7. Roberto Balado-Naves & Marian Garcia-Valiñas & David Roibas, 2023. "Efficiency, perceived prices, and household water demand: A stochastic frontier analysis for the Spanish city of Gijón," Efficiency Series Papers 2023/01, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
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    11. Lee, Gi-Eu & Chou, Chang-Erh, 2020. "The Ex Ante Price Information Effect on Water Conservation: A Case Study of Taipei’s Water Tariff Adjustment," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304253, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Roberto Balado-Naves & Sara Suarez-Fernandez, 2023. "Residential water demand: Gender differences in water consumption," Efficiency Series Papers 2023/06, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    13. René Cabral & Luciano Ayala & Victor Hugo Delgado, 2017. "Residential Water Demand and Price Perception under Increasing Block Rates," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(1), pages 508-519.
    14. María Ángeles García-Valiñas & Sara Suárez-Fernández, 2022. "Are Economic Tools Useful to Manage Residential Water Demand? A Review of Old Issues and Emerging Topics," Post-Print hal-04067487, HAL.
    15. Ramón Barberán & Julio López-Laborda & Fernando Rodrigo, 2022. "The Perception of Residential Water Tariff, Consumption, and Cost: Evidence of its Determinants Using Survey Data," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(9), pages 2933-2952, July.
    16. Marie-Estelle Binet & María Ángeles García-Valiñas & Michel Paul, 2020. "Price perception under blocks tariff schemes : a comparison of drinking water consumption beliefs and behaviors and recommandations for efficient nudging policies," Post-Print hal-03192716, HAL.
    17. Joshi, Nupur & Gerlak, Andrea K. & Hannah, Corrie & Lopus, Sara & Krell, Natasha & Evans, Tom, 2023. "Water insecurity, housing tenure, and the role of informal water services in Nairobi’s slum settlements," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    18. Milan Ščasný & Šarlota Smutná, 2021. "Estimation of price and income elasticity of residential water demand in the Czech Republic over three decades," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 580-608, June.
    19. Janine Stone & Christopher Goemans & Marco Costanigro, 2019. "Variation in Water Demand Responsiveness to Utility Policies and Weather: A Latent-Class Model," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(01), pages 1-33, September.
    20. Roberto Balado-Naves & Marian Garcia-Valiñas & David Roibas, 2023. "Efficiency, perceived prices, and household water demand: A stochastic frontier analysis for the Spanish city of Gijón," Working Papers hal-04147781, HAL.
    21. Mónica Maldonado-Devis & Vicent Almenar-Llongo, 2021. "A Panel Data Estimation of Domestic Water Demand with IRT Tariff Structure: The Case of the City of Valencia (Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-26, January.
    22. Pinto, Francisco Silva & Marques, Rui Cuhna, 2015. "Tariff recommendations: A Panacea for the Portuguese water sector?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 36-44.
    23. Pérez-Urdiales, María & Libra, Jesse M. & Machado, Kleber B. & Serebrisky, Tomás & Sosa, Ben Solís, 2024. "Household water bill perception in Brazil," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

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